Thursday, September 13, 2018

thinking of words to send you

Dear Readers,

The juice of a small white peach on my fingers rolled down my arm, almost, with patience, to my elbow. The progressing drop decreased in size, leaving a transparent, shiny trail, a little like the beautiful track of a snail.

Our thoughts, ideas, and words head out from where we are, like an enormous army. They keep on going and they will find sometimes a place to stay for a while, or even to die. Or maybe they are more like seeds, many millions are blown from the spent blossom, but only a few find fertile soil. But when? Our words can sit fallow for many, many decades, and then, there you are, using some words that someone gave you a long lifetime ago.

I try very hard to keep the words, the thoughts, that people give me, but holding them is so difficult. They just flow away like liquid, or dry up slowly. And then, there you are again.

It is the kind, praising words I want to keep the most- I repeat them, over and over, hoping to fix them very permanently in my mind. I want to keep them for use on a rainy, diffident day; a day where a little sanative dose is needed. Other words might stick around too long, and try as I might, I cannot get away from hearing them over and over.

What shall we do with the latent power of our ideas and words? Annie Dillard advises us to give the best ones now; don't save them up. Spend it all, good and fast.